


Missing You

by amanori



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Childhood Friends, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-22 16:01:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22285396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amanori/pseuds/amanori
Summary: Since they were children, Boruto and Shikadai knew they were soulmates. As their duties take them farther and farther away from each other, they take to writing on their arms, a dangerous act for shinobi, as they begin to miss each other more and more.
Relationships: Nara Shikadai/Uzumaki Boruto
Comments: 9
Kudos: 53





	Missing You

{ **_This mission is a drag_ **}

Boruto laughs when he sees the dark green words written on his left arm. The handwriting is sloppy as if the person behind it was tired, but still wanted to update despite that. Knowing Shikadai, he was probably bored out of his mind and not bothering to keep his handwriting neat. Or he was writing in secret and wasn’t able to properly write. Bored, huh. If he remembered correctly, Shikadai’s team was doing some diplomatic mission last he heard. _They should be about done by now_ , he muses. _We might run into each other on the way home_. He feels excited at the thought.

Boruto’s own mission had only just ended and now they were on the trek back home. He still had a couple of scrapes on his arms and knees after falling off a cliff. But it was better, at least, than breaking another arm and having no one around to heal it right away.

(It had been a very painful experience and he didn’t want to deal with the aftermath of worrying everyone with his injuries again.)

He smiles and traces his fingers over the green words. _Shikadai must’ve gotten a new pen_ , he thinks happily. Usually Shikadai wrote with a black pen because that’s what was always on him. The dark green was new. His hand itches to write a response _. I can’t_ , he thinks. _The others would see._

“What are you smiling at Boruto?” Sarada asks. She looks up from her seat. Her half-gutted fish stays there forgotten. “Come on, I want to eat. This food isn’t going to prepare itself, you know.”

“Sorry,” Boruto apologizes quickly and yanks down his sleeve. He grabs his knife again and begins to gut the fish he had started on before his arm had started to itch and warm due to the words being written.

Mitsuki eyes him curiously. “What were you looking at?”

Boruto pauses slightly. “Nothing.”

Nobody knows that he has a soulmate. Soulmates are uncommon to have. Only 1 out of 5 people are cursed with soulmate writing. Usually soulmates are found by writing on any part of the body and if words appeared responding back then that would mean that they had a soulmate. Simple really. Except, the reality of this wasn’t so simple for shinobi. Shinobi weren’t encouraged to write on their wrists for fear of their significant other’s name being written in an enemy bingo book if they were one of the unlucky ones. It was so discouraged that the word soulmate still drew heads especially in shinobi villages. Some villages even tested for soulmates and discouraged those individuals in becoming ninja.

(Not so much in commoner villages. It was seen as mystical and fascinating.)

Sarada squints at him suspiciously and her knife stops. “Now, _I’m_ curious. What was it Boruto?”

_Ah, crap_. He knew that when they both got like this it was better to just say it outright. Otherwise, they would be pestering for hours. And there was no Big Bro Konohamaru around today because he had a separate mission to quell some of the questions and stop them from getting to be too much. Boruto keeps his eyes trained on the ground. It shouldn’t be so important. But he was the Hokage’s kid now, if anyone knew he had a soulmate then that person would be sought after to gain some leverage over them. His parents didn't need to tell him that. He knew through stories from his Big Bro Konohamaru that it was a common act to torture known soulmates for information if captured.

It didn't matter if there was peace now. That wouldn't matter for an enemy.

Boruto feels both their eyes on him, rapt with attention. They were his teammates and if he didn't trust them with this... _Well, here goes_. “Just my soulmate,” he mumbles.

Shikadai and him both knew they were soulmates since when they were kids. Back when they were both still playing with their blocks and still learning how to walk. Boruto still remembers that day with clarity. He had gotten a bright red marker and written ‘hi’ on his arm after he had heard the story of soulmates being a thing. He had been curious. His parents never warned him of the dangers of doing something like that. So, he had no problem writing on his arm in his big, sloppy, childish writing. He had watched with awe as that word appeared on Shikadai’s arm. They had both been struck with wonderment and awe. Laughed as they began drawing on their arms.

To them it was just something cool and fun.

Nothing at all dangerous.

But there had been history of shinobi families known to be wiped out by the actions of a small child all because a relative of their soulmate was from an enemy shinobi family who would then take advantage of such an opportunity.

Of course once their parents found out, they were warned to not let anyone know.

Having a soulmate was messy business for shinobi. They both learned that very young from their parents who had lost their friends from such actions.

And so, they had never told anyone. They always saw each other at school so they never found the need to write on their arms when they got older. Only rarely at nighttime whenever the other was bored or grounded.

But as of late, writing to each other was common. Being far away did that. It was hard being away from each other after having been so used to being around the other. It had felt like a limb had been torn off. Shikadai was always around for him, always eating with him, scolding him… and now he was not.

Boruto misses his best friend even more now than ever. Especially now that they were both taking missions farther away from home and for farther lengths of time.

As a result, Boruto was always careful to keep his left arm hidden. (That was the arm they both agreed upon to write their notes.) They usually kept to writing first thing in the morning to wash the evidence afterwards under the pretense of taking a bath. It had been Shikadai’s suggestion saying that it was what his parents did.

Sarada acts unpredictably by blushing bright and stammering, “Wh-Wh-What?!”

Mitsuki only stares at him with curiosity. “Oh?”

Boruto huffs, wanting the subject to be dropped. Not that it was going to be easy. As far as he knew from his class, he was the only one to know he had a soulmate.

(Nobody in their right mind would dare write on their arm especially if they were enrolled in a ninja academy.)

“Okay, I told you guys. Just-Let’s get this done. We still have to get back home and I want to do that before a big storm decides to come in again and then get sick with the flu.”

Boruto wants to home soon. To see Himawari and give her the souvenirs he picked up along the way. He wants to see her face brighten up with joy. Boruto wants to punch his dad with the new move he’s made and see the proud look come across his face. Most of all he wants to taste his mom’s cooking and see her kind smile as she fusses over him while he complains it isn’t necessary. _I miss them_ , he thinks sadly. The older he got, the farther he got from them, those feelings of loneliness increased in him... But being so far away was necessary. _It’s for the good of the village_ , he thinks.

Mitsuki only creeps up closer. “Do you know who it is?”

“N-N-No,” Boruto stammers, looking away from his intense gaze. _Why does Mitsuki always have to do that? Especially when I'm not paying attention!_

Sarada eyes his left arm sharply. “Did they write something? What was it?”

Boruto throws his knife down, half-annoyed and half-embarrassed. “What’s with all this grilling?”

“It’s just… you’re the first person I know in our class who has a soulmate,” Sarada says and then quickly adds. “Our parents don’t count.”

Boruto blushes and picks at the grass. “Yeah, well. Soulmates don’t matter much you know. It's nothing special.”

“Aren’t soulmates rare?” Mitsuki asks. “You’re lucky, Boruto. Just as what one would expect of the Hokage’s kid.”

Boruto pouts. _What does that even mean?_ “Me being the Hokage’s kid doesn’t automatically mean I’ll have a soulmate, Mitsuki.”

_Those two don’t correlate at all_ , he thinks.

Mitsuki only smiles. “Yes, well. Still you’re lucky.”

Boruto looks at him surprised. Lucky? Usually those who knew would say that it was a pity. A hindrance. A weakness. Having a soulmate wasn’t lucky. It was the exact opposite of that. But he knows Mitsuki was probably not raised like that. (Given with Orochimaru being his parent.) Sarada however was. And the look on her face was something he had expected.

Sarada frowns. “Isn’t it dangerous? Having a soulmate, I mean. It’s not an enemy right?”

“ **WHAT?** ” Boruto exclaims outraged. Shikadai an enemy? He can't help but yell out, “They’re NOT an enemy!”

“Oh,” Mitsuki says surprised. He leans forward, closer to invading Boruto’s personal space again. “You **_DO_** know who they are?”

They both stare at him intense. Sarada’s eyes are glinting and Boruto tries not to make himself smaller under both their gazes.

“ **Who is it?** ” They both say at the same time.

Boruto winces at the echo of their words.

“I don’t know.” He says quickly. _Crap, crap, why can’t they just let it go?_

“You’re lying,” Sarada sings. She looks gleeful. “Who is it? Is it someone we know?”

“Shut up. No, I’m not,” Boruto exclaims. His cheeks turn an even brighter shade of pink. “And it’s not anyone important!”

“You’ve got that face on, Boruto. We both know you are lying. This is you’re lying face Shikadai keeps saying you suck at doing,” Mitsuki piques. He looks amused.

“Stupid Shikadai giving my teammates hints about my face,” Boruto grumbles.

They laugh at him.

He feels the familiar sensation of pin pricks across his skin. _A new note is being written_ , Boruto thinks. He resists the urge to pull back his sleeve to look at the handwriting forming across his skin. If the message got erased before he could see it then that would be that. It wasn't realistic for him to be able to catch all the messages. (Still, it disappointed him when he did.)

Sarada eyes him and manages to catch his quick glance at his arm.

“Are they writing to you now? How does it work? Can you tell when they write to you?”

Her questions are too quick for him to properly respond. “Uh, wha-?”

“I wanna see,” Sarada says as she bounds forward.

His arm is yanked up quickly by her grip.

“You guys! Seriously!” Boruto huffs as he tries to fight her hold.

Sarada lets go of his arm and she freezes. He looks at her surprised. _What is it?_ He freezes once he notes that his sleeve had slipped down revealing the green on his skin. The handwriting was out in full view and so reluctantly, Boruto yanks down his sleeve and glances at the writing as his teammates do so at the same time.

{ _**T**_ ** _alks went well_** }

The message disappears and another line forms underneath it in its scraggly handwriting.

{ **_I’m so bored. Nothing is happening here_** }

And then:

{ **_I miss you_ ** }

The words are small but clear. No longer in their usual scraggly handwriting, showing they took their time to make each word perfect. Boruto’s cheeks warm and fondness spreads in his chest. He rifles in his pockets and finds his pen he had managed to find back in one of the villages they had stayed.

[ **I miss you too** ] He writes back carefully and slowly once the words disappear from his skin.

He blushes bright red once he realizes his teammates are carefully looking at his expression. He averts his gaze back onto the ground, feeling a small tendril of embarrassment.

He hadn’t meant to look so soft. Shikadai would laugh at him if he had seen it.

“You really care for them.” Mitsuki says bluntly, looking at the carefully written words.

Sarada looks stunned. Her cheeks deepening into a deep red. "Y-Y-Yeah. Mitsuki's right. That's pretty cool. Having a soulmate you know. Boruto, do you like them?"

Boruto wants to deny it, but it was the truth. 

“Yeah, I do,” Boruto responds smiling as a caricature of him is crudely drawn on the inside of his elbow. He laughs as Mitsuki and Sarada both begin to grin at the drawing.

“I really do.”

He can't wait till he gets home to share a burger with Shikadai.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! This is really a rare pair ;; I hope to write more about this pairing in the future!! I also kind of want to expand on this universe, but I'm undecided at this point. soulmate daiboru is so cute ;; LOL there's also something I've been writing on and off since 2017 that's not related to soulmate shikaboru OTL maybe I'll finish that and release it sometime this year hopefully!!
> 
> Anyway, childhood friends Shikadai and Boruto is something I've always liked haha There's just something about the way Shikadai takes care of Boruto that's very sweet!! Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ
> 
> Also again, sorry for any grammar mistakes as they're my own ;;
> 
> Thank you for the comments and kudos as well!! :D


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